A Middle East operator needed to change the wellhead after hydraulic fracturing treatment of a high-pressure tight gas well. Traditional well isolation methods involved millable plugs as a barrier, which require costly, time-consuming milling operations. This led the operator to seek a retrievable plug. However, due to the heavyweight, nonstandard tubing, conventional retrievable plugs available on the market were incompatible with the well.
SLB proposed using the SIMextra retrievable bridge plug with fit-for-purpose slips to provide exceptional sealing, reliability, and efficiency. Fully certified to ISO 14310:2015, the gas-tight plug holds up to 10,000-psi pressure from above and below.
SLB deployed the plug on conventional slickline in one run in just a few hours. After changing out the wellhead, the operator retrieved the plug in less than 2 hours—saving up to 4 days compared with previous operations that used millable plugs. By avoiding complex milling operations, the operator mitigated HSE risk and personnel exposure. With these new efficiencies, the operator can complete the entire wellhead changeout operation in less than a day.
